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But she was frozen, speechless as she gazed at his profile There was so his jaw He looked bleak, haunted And Hyacinth had theiainst his cheek, to smooth his hair where the dark blond strands of his queue rested against the collar of his coat

But she didn’t She wasn’t that courageous

He turned suddenly, his eyes h force and clarity to take her breath away And she had the oddest sense that she was only just now seeing the man beneath the surface

“Shall we return?” he asked, and his voice was light and disappointingly back to normal

Whatever had happened between them, it had passed

“Of course,” Hyacinth said Noasn’t the time to press him “When do you wish to return to Clair…” Her words trailed off Gareth had stiffened, and his eyes were focused sharply over her shoulder

Hyacinth turned around to see what had grabbed his attention

Her br

eath caught His father alking down the path, coht toward them

She looked quickly around They were on the less fashionable side of the park, and as such, it wasn’t terribly crowded She could see a few , but none was close enough to overhear a conversation, provided that Gareth and his father were able to remain civil

Hyacinth looked again froentleman to the other, and she realized that she had never seen theether before

Half of her wanted to pull Gareth to the side and avoid a scene, and half was dying of curiosity If they stayed put, and she was finally able to witness their interaction, she ement

But it wasn’t up to her It had to be Gareth’s decision “Do you want to go?” she asked hi her voice low

His lips parted slowly as his chin rose a fraction of an inch “No,” he said, his voice strangely contemplative “It’s a public park”

Hyacinth looked fro, she was sure, like a badly wielded tennis ball “Are you certain?” she asked, but he didn’t hear her She didn’t think he would have heard a cannon going off right by his ear, so focused was he on thetoo casually toward them